Crowdfunding SXSW: Jambase and Get My Band Partner Up

Jambase, a leading source of live music and concert information, and Get My Band, provider of a new crowdfunding platform for touring bands, have announced a partnership that gives fans the ability to bring their favorite bands to their hometown and lets bands use crowdfunding to tour profitably and play more live gigs.

Jambase will integrate Get My Band’s crowdfunding technology into its live concert platform, which currently boasts over one million concert listings for hundreds of thousands of music fans around the world. In addition to finding concert listings, Jambase users can now find and participate in crowdfunding concert offers.

Crowdfunding has already become a disruptive trend in the music industry. Just last year, fans pledged millions of dollars to help bands cut new albums, while money raised through crowdfunding overall increased from $1.5 billion to over $3 billion globally. In addition to driving funding for albums, the power of the crowd can help bands play more live gigs and create more profitable tours. Bands know ahead of time – before booking a show – that they can cover touring costs such as gas, hotel, and equipment rental. By giving fans the ability to “pledge” tickets with real dollars, bands can book new concerts with confidence and without financial risk.

“Jambase’s mission is to give fans the opportunity to see more live music,” said Sabrina Schulz, CEO of Jambase. “We’re excited to give fans a new way to see the bands they love. Now, in addition to easily finding a show and buying tickets, our users can find crowdfunding concert offers and pledge to bring their favorite bands to their hometown.”

To kick off their partnership, Jambase and Get My Band are hosting a crowdfunded concert event at SXSW. Through pledges from their fans, participating bands are raising the money needed to cover their costs to get to Austin and perform live at the SXSW event. The fans are benefiting as well; to “pay back” their pledging fans, the bands are offering unique rewards including signed CD’s, guitar lessons and even a live house party.

“By marrying our crowdfunding technology with the Jambase global live concert platform, we are empowering hundreds of thousands of fans to help their favorite bands tour profitably to more cities than ever before,” said Mike Angiletta, CEO & Founder of Get My Band. “And we’re thrilled to kick off our partnership by giving some great bands a chance to crowdfund their way to Austin and play live at our SXSW concert event.”

“Thanks to our fans, we’re at 70 percent of our funding goal in just a few days,” said Michael Craswell, lead singer of K-Sera. “Getting to Austin isn’t cheap, so it’s great to see how supportive our fans are. For the fans that help us out with a pledge, we’re giving them some unique “Thank You” rewards, like signed CD’s, unreleased recordings, and personalized songs. We’re off to an awesome start!”

Jambase and Get My Band will be hosting their crowdfunded concert event at SXSW on March 14th from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. at the Jackalope.